I know I have readers who served in the United States armed forces. I am friends with and work with quite a number of veterans. I thank them for their service.
To that end, to hell with some of the military’s top brass. Their time in uniform is honorable. What some of them have chosen to do once they retire is some fucking bullshit.
Back at the very beginning of this year I made a sarcastic post about the Navy Secretary carrying overseas, which turned into the mockery of some high ranking Army officers and their obvious deficiencies with handguns. This picture being key.
I was corrected by a reader, through Miguel’s follow up post that the “tactical teacup” grip (not shown above) is still Army doctrine, or was until just a few years ago.
Fast forward to today.
CNN has hired former Army Lieutenant General Mark Hertling as a military and security analyst.
Hertling was brought in to do a segment on the AR-15. This is the fucking tragedy that ensued.
General Hertling, thank you for your service of 37 years.
Now please shut the fuck and go home.
That chicken wing arm, stock bouncing around, lousy control was embarrassing to watch. I get it, he was an armor officer, he didn’t need to use an M-16 or M-4 for most of his career. Death before dismount. Fine. But it is clear from his pathetic demonstration and use of the nonsensical phrase “on full semi automatic” that he has no expertise what-so-ever on that weapon platform.
This display on CNN is a sham.
“Look at that 37 year combat veteran not hit anything with this dangerous ‘high velocity’ rifle.”
The General things that a person has to have a “whole lot of training” to use that weapon. If it is the same level and quality of training that the General has, that ain’t much.
If you think my disdain is disrespectful, I’m sorry. But right now this man, who swore an officer’s oath to defend the Constitution, is a pawn in the CNN “these guns are too dangerous for civilian hands” game.
Look, I’m not going to tell the man how to work and M1 Abrams. That’s his universe. But I’ve started to get into carbine match and I’m going to be lectured at by CNN and their pet retired General, how this weapon is not for me because he shoots like a a jackass.
This is the worst worst form of the “appeal to authority” fallacy. Getting some retired career military officer with a terrible case of DC-itis to make the claim that these “scary guns” should only be trusted to the military.
As a former armor enlisted guy, this general is an embarrassment (in the context of the video).
As a former Infantryman I agree wholeheartedly with you Kb. This General is an embarrassment to the uniform he once wore. He should shut the fuck up and sit down. Our founders intended the 2A as a deterrent against our own government. The same attributes of the AR15 that this fuck-stick general says make it too dangerous are the same reasons that the AR15 makes a great home defense weapon.
There is also the Miller decision, justly infamous for other reasons, but it does point out that the 2nd Amendment particularly protects weapons suitable for military use. That’s how Miller held that short-barreled shotguns weren’t protected — because no evidence had been brought to show their military usefulness, so the court was forced to assume they had none, and for that reason they could be prohibited.
In other words, if you want to adopt the silly premise that AR-15s are “weapons of war” it immediately follows, per Miller, that the 2nd Amendment protects their ownership.
That dummy doesn’t even know how to properly hold a rifle. Lean back? That’s how people who are shooting a rifle for the first time hold them. He was even squinting his eyes up as he was shooting.
Not unusual. Outside of Special Operations, I knew very few officers that were even interested in guns of any type much less decent shots.
Actually I’m kinda pleased and hope this gets spread around. More eveidence that CNN is full of ‘it’.